Financial institutions are a pillar of civilized society, supporting people in their productive ventures and managing the economic risks they take on. The workings of these institutions are important to comprehend if we are to predict their actions today and their evolution in the coming information age. The course strives to offer understanding of the theory of finance and its relation to the history, strengths and imperfections of such institutions as banking, insurance, securities, futures, and other derivatives markets, and the future of these institutions over the next century.
Finance and Insurance as Powerful Forces in Our Economy and Society
The Universal Principle of Risk Management: Pooling and the Hedging of Risks
Technology and Invention in Finance
Portfolio Diversification and Supporting Financial Institutions (CAPM Model)
Insurance: The Archetypal Risk Management Institution
Efficient Markets vs. Excess Volatility
Behavioral Finance: The Role of Psychology
Human Foibles, Fraud, Manipulation, and Regulation
Guest Lecture by David Swensen
Debt Markets: Term Structure
Stocks
Real Estate Finance and Its Vulnerability to Crisis
Banking: Successes and Failures
Guest Lecture by Andrew Redleaf
Guest Lecture by Carl Icahn
The Evolution and Perfection of Monetary Policy
Investment Banking and Secondary Markets
Professional Money Managers and Their Influence
Brokerage, ECNs, etc.
Guest Lecture by Stephen Schwarzman
Forwards and Futures
Stock Index, Oil and Other Futures Markets
Options Markets
Making It Work for Real People: The Democratization of Finance
Learning from and Responding to Financial Crisis, Part I (Guest Lecture by Lawrence Summers)
Learning from and Responding to Financial Crisis, Part II (Guest Lecture by Lawrence Summers)